I hope you stop standing in places where you can no longer grow. I hope

Today is his birthday. I don’t know how old he is anymore.old enough to know better, that much is true. and part of m

there was this one time I was mowing my grandpa’s lawn

he tried to make me do dishes because I am a girl

but I hate the dishes

I’d rather mow the lawn so I trade jobs with my brother

my first kiss was my brother’s best friend but he was also mine

he and I were in a spiral staircase in a turret, like a castle, but they called it a tabernacle

it later caught fire

when I was eighteen I used to break open the back door around midnight

leave the windows unhinged just in case

I hope your love grows as your flowers do
that you never leave them wondering if you love their tired wilted petals

Today my head was full of weeds

dry and dusty thirsty things

you and I’ve been breaking bones since we met

Give me a man who is water first. fire, air then earth. because water cools my fire and his fire caresses my rain in a way that makes my shoulders smolder all the way

her bones grew roots

and these roots grew trees

and the trees called the flowers

and the flowers called the bees

you tell me they are green and I should know this because the men with green eyes always pull me in and you joke that maybe I am colorblind

nothing feels right at the end of July

no one knew that a few days later you’d be lying in the ICU

hooked up to tubes and a machine that kept you breathing

and now I count August by fives